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Post by mozzer on Nov 6, 2016 14:11:03 GMT
Maybe we need to lower our expectations as fans just a little bit. I know that a lot of opposition fans needle us about budgets, status, and whatnot, then simultaneously act as if they've won their cup final when they beat us, but that is mostly down to jealously as opposed to a realistic reflection of where we are as a club.
The reality is that we've essentially come from nowhere and achieved back-to-back promotions. A third promotion in a row, especially in a league this tough, is going to be very difficult to pull off. Even the owners/club officials/managers, who for the last two seasons have pushed home that they wanted promotion, have not been as vocal on that subject matter this season. That's because they know (and in some cases have outright said as much) that consolidation is more likely this year.
I'm not terribly disappointed with how this season has panned out so far, not at all. If not for a start beyond most people's expectations, there wouldn't be as many talking points from the last eight to ten games, so to speak. So have we played fantastic football all season? No, we haven't. Has every player been consistently good in every game? Of course not - how many are at this level of the game anyway? Jay Lynch has perhaps been the closest to achieving this, maybe. But ... we are still finding our feet at this level. As long as we strive to learn as we go and improve from our mistakes, and - perhaps most importantly - as long as the players give it their all for the team in every game, then I'll settle for where we are right now gladly.
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Post by asalfordfan on Nov 6, 2016 14:24:14 GMT
Am I the only one to be disappointed and more than a little bored with the quality of football on offer this season? For quite a lot of the games this season I've had neck ache trying to follow the ball as it gets "lumped" upfield in the hope of finding someone, yesterday with the wind I expected us (and Harrogate) to play the ball on the floor and to feet but no and again quality was sadly lacking. With the class/quality of players we have the football should be much better whether this is down to Bern and Jonno I don't know but we should be playing a more fluent game on the floor, we should be better producing much better football. If that's what you think.And that's the way you see it.Thats your opinion and you are entitled to that view.Its a forum not a love in. Are you for real RTS? This is what YOU said... 'But having seen all our games but one I would not say that Scott as been our best player so far.In fact at this stage I would find it difficult to give that accolade to anybody.'
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Post by Chris P. Bacon on Nov 6, 2016 14:45:45 GMT
Someone has to be our best player, even if that player isn't very good. Unless you take the view they are all equally as bad? 😀
But I've never read so much tosh on this forum for a while.
We've had two successive promotions. The owners didn't expect that. We are now in a league with teams that have pedigree and experience at this level and above. Some of them have a big fan base. Some of them have a higher budget and some of them are full time. We are just coming off a pretty poor run of form, yet we're within three points of the playoff positions.
There's nothing wrong with lumping the ball up, at the right time and if the conditions suit it. So let's not have a blanket 'downer' on the long ball. I thought we did that less yesterday, but even if we didn't, this is what players do when they get nervous or are under pressure. You can try and train it out of them, but if under pressure, players do this.
We have a good squad of players right now, with the loaners. If they carry on as they did yesterday, then I expect us to start picking up points. If we are in touch with the playoffs at Xmas then we are in with a chance. But a chance of the playoffs. We aren't good enough to win it in my opinion, but the playoffs are possible. But that's a tall order. If we don't, then we go again next season.
Anyone who has read the owners book will know that although we are investing in the team, we aren't going to spend money we don't have, to speculate on promotion. Sometimes, the opposition is better than you. Better players, better tactics and better organised. We have no right to expect promotion every year. We need to do this right.
As a medium term fan.....five seasons or so, all fans should remember how far we've come in a very short space of time. I actually think I'm almost more excited at the development plans, than a potential promotion this season. The development, the fan base and the club league position must all be in tandem. It's not about getting promotion every season, but building the whole club to the point that when league football comes, we'll be ready. The owners, committee, managers and players are all on a steep learning curve, so let's give them a chance and don't get down if we have to spend more than a single season in each league.
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Post by ElChapo on Nov 6, 2016 14:53:37 GMT
So.... overall fair result yesterday! 1st Half - Controlled the first 15-20 minutes, but then let Harrogate Town have a spell in the game. 2nd Half - Again had a good 10 minute start, then it went flat for about 15-20 minutes, neither team doing much, then we dominated the final 10 minutes. I think the back 4/5 (Inc. Jay Lynch) were solid throughout.... in fact it was the first team in a long while I actually thought we wasn't going to concede. Won everything that came into our box. PLAYER ANALYSIS 1) Jay Lynch - Made an unbelievable save in the first half, top draw. Caught everything that he needed to, and once again had a solid performance. 2) Michael NOTTINGHAM - Solid defender, was great getting forward in the 2nd half, jinxy runs into the opposing 18 yard box. Passing though (distribution) isn't his strongest point. 3) Patrick Brough - Solid and composed at LB, had his head up and was always looking for a red shirt. 4) Scott Burton - For me, best player so far this season. Don't think it was his best game of the season, but gave a consistent performance. 5) Simon Grand (c)Again, made some excellent defensive headers to relive the pressure, and formed a solid partnership with Deaman. 6) Jack Deaman - Probably my Man of the Match yesterday, was absolutely solid at the back, and managed to get into promising positions on our corners. 7) Jordan HULME - Looked frustrated slightly, but Hulme always gives his all. Going forward he needs to ensure opposition players don't wind him up. 8) Sam Walker - Not his best game unfortunately, thought his passing was a little sloppy at times, but we know how good he can be. 9) Mike PHENIX - Just needs to score again, didn't do much wrong yesterday, and looked annoyed at being substituted. 10) Matt WARBURTON - Had a great game IMO, was all over the pitch... dragging defenders out of position, looking for the ball. 11) Richie Allen - Don't think we used him that much in the game, would of liked to see the ball at Allen's feet more and let him run at defenders. 12) Steve O'HALLORAN 14) Billy Priestley 15) Chris Atkinson 16) Craig King (for PHENIX, 71st min) - Didn't make a noticeable impact. 17) Nick Haughton (for ALLEN, 61st min) - Again, not really a noticeable impact, although his shot from outside the box in the first 2-3 minutes of coming on was superb. Again, like most substitutions, didn't make much difference to the team, but I'm sure he will make a difference in the coming weeks. was you back in the clubhouse when haughton came on? he was the only good thing about yesterday.
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Post by Chris P. Bacon on Nov 6, 2016 15:34:25 GMT
Nah....he wasn't the only good thing about yesterday. We kept a clean sheet. Lynch made a world class save and the other two loaners also had good games.
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Post by returntosender on Nov 6, 2016 16:05:47 GMT
Someone has to be our best player, even if that player isn't very good. Unless you take the view they are all equally as bad? 😀 But I've never read so much tosh on this forum for a while. We've had two successive promotions. The owners didn't expect that. We are now in a league with teams that have pedigree and experience at this level and above. Some of them have a big fan base. Some of them have a higher budget and some of them are full time. We are just coming off a pretty poor run of form, yet we're within three points of the playoff positions. There's nothing wrong with lumping the ball up, at the right time and if the conditions suit it. So let's not have a blanket 'downer' on the long ball. I thought we did that less yesterday, but even if we didn't, this is what players do when they get nervous or are under pressure. You can try and train it out of them, but if under pressure, players do this. We have a good squad of players right now, with the loaners. If they carry on as they did yesterday, then I expect us to start picking up points. If we are in touch with the playoffs at Xmas then we are in with a chance. But a chance of the playoffs. We aren't good enough to win it in my opinion, but the playoffs are possible. But that's a tall order. If we don't, then we go again next season. Anyone who has read the owners book will know that although we are investing in the team, we aren't going to spend money we don't have, to speculate on promotion. Sometimes, the opposition is better than you. Better players, better tactics and better organised. We have no right to expect promotion every year. We need to do this right. As a medium term fan.....five seasons or so, all fans should remember how far we've come in a very short space of time. I actually think I'm almost more excited at the development plans, than a potential promotion this season. The development, the fan base and the club league position must all be in tandem. It's not about getting promotion every season, but building the whole club to the point that when league football comes, we'll be ready. The owners, committee, managers and players are all on a steep learning curve, so let's give them a chance and don't get down if we have to spend more than a single season in each league. Chris I would still be going what ever league we were in.I think two people have expressed a similar view to me.It is every thing I say,that this person as ago we are entitled to a opinion are we not.I just said of yesterday's game I was bored to tears,as for best players yes they could all be equally bad but they could all be equally good.Yes I could pick a best player so far it just would not be Scott that's just my opinion.It could be that we don't have that many on the forum,because people might think if they say anything of page they might be criticised so why bother.In fact I know of one that applies to.
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Post by local1957 on Nov 6, 2016 16:40:55 GMT
Nah....he wasn't the only good thing about yesterday. We kept a clean sheet. Lynch made a world class save and the other two loaners also had good games. Agree with you Chris, but when Nick came on it gave us a lift, also though Jay was excellent again. We missed Pooley today for his skill and guile and I don't believe we have managed to replace Gaz Stopforth yet despite quite a few midfielders coming in, his partnership with Scott was one of the reasons for our success over the past couple of years. I reckon the managers will sort it out it's just a case of finding our best XI.
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Post by tangerinedream on Nov 6, 2016 17:24:22 GMT
Maybe we need to lower our expectations as fans just a little bit. I know that a lot of opposition fans needle us about budgets, status, and whatnot, then simultaneously act as if they've won their cup final when they beat us, but that is mostly down to jealously as opposed to a realistic reflection of where we are as a club. The reality is that we've essentially come from nowhere and achieved back-to-back promotions. A third promotion in a row, especially in a league this tough, is going to be very difficult to pull off. Even the owners/club officials/managers, who for the last two seasons have pushed home that they wanted promotion, have not been as vocal on that subject matter this season. That's because they know (and in some cases have outright said as much) that consolidation is more likely this year. I'm not terribly disappointed with how this season has panned out so far, not at all. If not for a start beyond most people's expectations, there wouldn't be as many talking points from the last eight to ten games, so to speak. So have we played fantastic football all season? No, we haven't. Has every player been consistently good in every game? Of course not - how many are at this level of the game anyway? Jay Lynch has perhaps been the closest to achieving this, maybe. But ... we are still finding our feet at this level. As long as we strive to learn as we go and improve from our mistakes, and - perhaps most importantly - as long as the players give it their all for the team in every game, then I'll settle for where we are right now gladly. I'm in total agreement with this post and indeed the one made after it by Chris P.Bacon but am still of the opinion that if you pay your money and go to the games then each and every person is more than entitled to their own point of view - irrespective of whether you vehemently disagree with them or believe them to talking from other than their mouths. I'm pretty certain that no is expecting a third successive promotion to simply drop into our laps just because we're owned by the Class of '92 and supposedly awash with mountains of money to throw around like confetti. It just simply isn't the case. If we do get into a play off place and go up then off course I'd be delighted but equally so if we don't then I certainly won't be calling for the manager's heads. We've come on leaps and bounds over the last two and a half seasons and given the expectations heaped on us - more so by the outside world - we've done incredibly well to date to cope with pressure that's put on us in a variety of different ways every week. There are always going to be those games where as a unit we perform incredibly well and on the other side of the coin we will naturally have our off days as well and play poorly. That's not a criticism but just a statement of fact. Overall we've have many more good days than bad ones and we've just got to accept that when it's not going our way it's not always necessarily down to our own lack of effort. Let's give the opposition their due when it's warranted. Having said all that I still maintain that the first half against Harrogate was a snooze fest and that we should have wrapped up the game comfortably in the second half. Despite a number of decent individual performances we simply weren't good enough on the day to finish the job off. That doesn't make us a bad team though. Perhaps - and hopefully - we will be good enough this coming Saturday to maintain touching distance with the play off positions. There appears to be a certain amount of internal surgery going on at the moment with the arrival of four new faces and I'm very interested as to how this will ultimately impact on the eventual make up of the squad. Also, are there going to be any enhancements made to our forward line I ask myself? Interesting days indeed!
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Post by mozzer on Nov 6, 2016 17:33:09 GMT
Maybe we need to lower our expectations as fans just a little bit. I know that a lot of opposition fans needle us about budgets, status, and whatnot, then simultaneously act as if they've won their cup final when they beat us, but that is mostly down to jealously as opposed to a realistic reflection of where we are as a club. The reality is that we've essentially come from nowhere and achieved back-to-back promotions. A third promotion in a row, especially in a league this tough, is going to be very difficult to pull off. Even the owners/club officials/managers, who for the last two seasons have pushed home that they wanted promotion, have not been as vocal on that subject matter this season. That's because they know (and in some cases have outright said as much) that consolidation is more likely this year. I'm not terribly disappointed with how this season has panned out so far, not at all. If not for a start beyond most people's expectations, there wouldn't be as many talking points from the last eight to ten games, so to speak. So have we played fantastic football all season? No, we haven't. Has every player been consistently good in every game? Of course not - how many are at this level of the game anyway? Jay Lynch has perhaps been the closest to achieving this, maybe. But ... we are still finding our feet at this level. As long as we strive to learn as we go and improve from our mistakes, and - perhaps most importantly - as long as the players give it their all for the team in every game, then I'll settle for where we are right now gladly. I'm in total agreement with this post and indeed the one made after it by Chris P.Bacon but am still of the opinion that if you pay your money and go to the games then each and every person is more than entitled to their own point of view - irrespective of whether you vehemently disagree with them or believe them to talking from other than their mouths. I'm pretty certain that no is expecting a third successive promotion to simply drop into our laps just because we're owned by the Class of '92 and supposedly awash with mountains of money to throw around like confetti. It just simply isn't the case. If we do get into a play off place and go up then off course I'd be delighted but equally so if we don't then I certainly won't be calling for the manager's heads. We've come on leaps and bounds over the last two and a half seasons and given the expectations heaped on us - more so by the outside world - we've done incredibly well to date to cope with pressure that's put on us in a variety of different ways every week. There are always going to be those games where as a unit we perform incredibly well and on the other side of the coin we will naturally have our off days as well and play poorly. That's not a criticism but just a statement of fact. Overall we've have many more good days than bad ones and we've just got to accept that when it's not going our way it's not always necessarily down to our own lack of effort. Let's give the opposition their due when it's warranted. Having said all that I still maintain that the first half against Harrogate was a snooze fest and that we should have wrapped up the game comfortably in the second half. Despite a number of decent individual performances we simply weren't good enough on the day to finish the job off. That doesn't make us a bad team though. Perhaps - and hopefully - we will be good enough this coming Saturday to maintain touching distance with the play off positions. There appears to be a certain amount of internal surgery going on at the moment with the arrival of four new faces and I'm very interested as to how this will ultimately impact on the eventual make up of the squad. Also, are there going to be any enhancements made to our forward line I ask myself? Interesting days indeed! Around 2009-10, another long-attending fan told me (while criticizing Alex Mortimer) that if they players didn't get paid AND/OR the fans didn't pay to get in, then they wouldn't criticize; however, as long as one of those things happend, then they felt justified to express an opinion, whether positive or negative. I wholly support that sentiment and therefore post my praise and criticism on the forum, facebook, etc. My last post is merely one side of a dialogue upon which I engaged with a supporter with a different opinion. I do actually agree that the first half was a snooze fest, yet at least we did pick it up in the second half. Once again we were left a little frustrated by not being able to put the chances away, but overall I'm still not too concerned about the season. Changes are most certainly afoot, and yes, we may yet see some a little further up the field in the coming weeks!
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